7.  The applicants were born in 1943 and 1975 respectively and live in Urus-Martan.
8.  The first applicant has two children: Isa Zaurbekov, born in 1967, and the second applicant. At the material time her two children were living temporarily in a block of flats at 1 Kirov Avenue in Grozny, Chechnya. Isa Zaurbekov worked as a car mechanic in a local repair shop.
9.  On 11 February 2003, at around 3 a.m., a group of armed men forcibly entered the block of flats at 1 Kirov Avenue and attempted to break down the door of a flat in which the second applicant and Isa Zaurbekov lived. The men managed to make a hole in the door. One of them then pointed his sniper rifle (vintorez) through the hole at the second applicant, who had been awakened by the noise, and ordered her to let them in. As soon as the second applicant opened the door, the men pushed her aside and about 15 of them entered the flat. They were wearing camouflage uniforms and one of them was masked. The men had sniper rifles with optic sights and silencers. According to the second applicant, the men who raided her flat belonged to the Russian federal troops, since they spoke Russian without an accent, had a Slavic appearance, were equipped with military vehicles and were able to circulate freely in Grozny during the curfew.
10.  One of the men ordered another one to get the second applicant “out of the way”, and the latter put his gun into her mouth. Then he covered the second applicant’s mouth with a rag and tied her hands with a rope.
11.  The intruders did not introduce themselves or produce any documents to authorise their actions and searched the flat. They forced Isa Zaurbekov, who was asleep in his room, out of bed and ordered him to lie down. The men tied his hands and covered his mouth with adhesive tape. They then ordered the second applicant’s brother to produce his identity papers, and the latter indicated that his passport was in his jacket. One of the servicemen showed Isa Zaurbekov’s passport to the masked man and asked if that was him. The masked man shook his head in the negative. The former servicemen stated that they would “take [Isa Zaurbekov] away anyway and then find out”. Although Isa Zaurbekov was only wearing trousers and a shirt and was barefoot, the men did not allow him to take his overcoat.
12.  Before leaving the flat one of the men ordered the second applicant to stay immobile for half an hour if she “wanted to live”. However, the one who had tied her up told her quietly that he had made the knot loose so that she could free herself easily. After the men had left, the second applicant managed to untie her hands. She then went out on the balcony and saw about 40 servicemen in the street. There were also three armoured personnel carriers (“APCs”), a white VAZ-2106 Zhiguli car and a UAZ vehicle. They left in the direction of the federal military base in Khankala. The applicants have had no news of Isa Zaurbekov since that date. The second applicant also examined the flat and found out that a computer central processing unit, a number of compact discs and a family photo album were missing.
13.  The applicants corroborated their account of events of 11 February 2003 with two eyewitness statements, notably those of Ms M.-M. and Ms D., the second applicant’s neighbours. Both women confirmed that on the night of the incident they had seen a group of about 40 men in camouflage uniforms and masks armed with machine guns and that those men had taken away Isa Zaurbekov. Ms M.-M. stated that she had also seen, and Ms D. stated that she had heard the noise of, military vehicles.
(b)  The Government’s account
14.  In the Government’s submission, on 11 February 2003, at around 3 a.m., “unidentified persons in camouflage uniforms armed with automatic firearms” had taken Isa Zaurbekov away in an unknown direction from flat no. 49 of the block of flats at 1 Kirov Street. The same persons had “committed a theft” of the Zaurbekovs’ property, notably a computer central processing unit, compact discs and a family photo album.
15.  According to the applicants, on 12 February 2003 they complained in writing about their relative’s detention to the Khankala military prosecutor but received no reply. The applicants did not furnish the Court with a copy of their complaint.
16.  Following Isa Zaurbekov’s detention, the applicants repeatedly applied in person and in writing to various public bodies, including prosecutors at various levels, administrative authorities of Chechnya, the Office of the President of Russia (Администрация Президента РФ), the Chairman of the State Duma (Председатель Государственной Думы) and the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Russian President in the Southern Federal Circuit (Полномочный представитель Президента РФ в Южном федеральном округе). They were supported in their efforts by the SRJI. In their letters to the authorities the applicants and the SRJI referred to the events of 11 February 2003 and asked for assistance and details of the investigation. Mostly these enquiries remained unanswered, or only formal responses were given stating that the applicants’ requests had been forwarded to various prosecutor’s offices for examination.
17.  In their observations submitted prior to the decision on admissibility, the Government stated that the applicants had first notified the authorities of their relative’s detention on 14 April 2003, when the second applicant’s complaint about the events of 11 February 2003 had been received by the Grozny prosecutor’s office (прокуратура г. Грозного). In the Government’s submission, on 25 April 2003 the Grozny prosecutor’s office forwarded this complaint “for examination” to the office of the interior of the Leninskiy District of Grozny (Ленинский отдел внутренних дел г. Грозного). The latter sent the documents on the result of the examination to the Grozny prosecutor’s office on 23 May 2003. The Government also submitted that on 17 June 2003 the Grozny prosecutor’s office had instituted a criminal investigation into Isa Zaurbekov’s disappearance under Article 126 (2) of the Russian Criminal Code (aggravated kidnapping) and that the file had been registered as no. 20123.
18.  In their observation submitted after the present case had been declared partly admissible, the Government stated that the criminal proceedings in connection with the abduction of the applicants’ relative had been instituted upon a written complaint by the second applicant, received by the Grozny prosecutor’s office on 19 June 2003. The Government did not indicate the date on which, according to them, the criminal proceedings had been instituted.
19.  The file on the present case contains a written complaint concerning Isa Zaurbekov’s abduction, signed by the second applicant and dated 9 March 2003. The document bears a handwritten note “received” – the form of the verb “receive” indicating that this action was performed by a woman – and the date “14 April 2003”.
20.  In letters of 25 and 30 June 2003 the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic (прокуратура Чеченской Республики, “the republican prosecutor’s office”) informed the first applicant that criminal proceedings had been brought in connection with her son’s abduction by unidentified persons and that she would be notified of the results of the investigation.
21.  By a letter of 23 July 2003 the military prosecutor of the United Group Alignment (военный прокурор Объединенной группы войск) transmitted the first applicant’s application to the military prosecutor of military unit no. 20102 (военный прокурор войсковой части 20102) for examination.
22.  On 31 July 2003 a deputy Prosecutor General of Russia (заместитель Генерального прокурора РФ) informed the first applicant that he had forwarded her request to establish the whereabouts of her son, who had been detained by “individuals wearing military uniforms”, to the republican prosecutor’s office, which would notify her of any developments in the case.
23.  In a decision of 11 August 2003 an investigator of the prosecutor’s office of the Leninskiy District of Grozny (прокуратура Ленинского района г. Грозного – “the district prosecutor’s office”) acknowledged the first applicant as a victim in criminal case no. 20123.
24.  In a letter of 25 August 2003 the republican prosecutor’s office again informed the first applicant that criminal case no. 20123 had been opened in connection with Isa Zaurbekov’s abduction and that the term for a preliminary investigation had been extended until 17 September 2003. The letter added that investigative measures were being taken to identify the alleged perpetrators and that the republican prosecutor’s office was closely supervising the investigation.
25.  On 25 September 2003, in reply to the second applicant’s application of 15 March 2003, the Grozny prosecutor’s office informed her that the preliminary investigation in criminal case no. 20153 [rather than 20123] opened on 17 June 2003 into her brother’s disappearance had been suspended on account of the “failure to identify those responsible”; however, “the search for Isa Zaurbekov had not been discontinued”.
26.  On 29 October 2003, in reply to an application lodged by the SRJI on the applicants’ behalf, the republican prosecutor’s office stated that the criminal proceedings in case no. 48193 [rather than 20123] instituted on 17 June 2003 in connection with Isa Zaurbekov’s abduction by unknown individuals, had been suspended on 17 September 2003, as the alleged perpetrators could not be established. The SRJI and the applicants were advised to address any further queries to the district prosecutor’s office.
27.  In a letter of 2 December 2003, in reply to another query from the SRJI, the republican prosecutor’s office restated that the criminal investigation into Isa Zaurbekov’s abduction had been commenced on 17 June 2003.
28.  On 11 December 2003 the district prosecutor’s office informed the first applicant that all the necessary investigative measures had been taken in the course of the investigation in criminal case no. 20123, but the location of her son had not been established, and that at present the search for Isa Zaurbekov was still in progress.
29.  On 11 April 2005 the republican prosecutor’s office notified the first applicant, in reply to an enquiry she had made on 25 February 2005, that the file on the case concerning her son’s abduction had been sent to the district prosecutor’s office “for the resumption of the investigation”.
30.  In a decision of 14 April 2005 the district prosecutor’s office granted the status of victim of a crime to the second applicant. The applicants submitted a copy of that decision.
31.  On the same date the district prosecutor’s office informed the first applicant that the proceedings in case no. 20123 had been resumed.
32.  On 15 April 2005 the investigator in charge of the district prosecutor’s office sent requests to prosecutors of regions neighbouring Chechnya as well as to prosecutors of various districts in Chechnya, describing Isa Zaurbekov’s appearance and distinguishing marks and asking them to check whether he was listed among unidentified dead bodies and whether any criminal cases had ever been opened in connection with the discovery of corpses with a similar appearance and distinguishing marks to those of Isa Zaurbekov.
33.  On 5 May 2005 the investigator in charge sent a reminder to the district prosecutor’s offices of Chechnya, asking them to comply with the request of 15 April 2005, which had remained unanswered.
34.  On 14 May 2005 the district prosecutor’s office notified the first applicant of the suspension of the investigation on an unspecified date. The letter also stated that measures aimed at establishing the identity of the alleged perpetrators were being taken.
35.  By a letter of 10 June 2005 the republican prosecutor’s office transmitted the first applicant’s query to the district prosecutor’s office for examination.
36.  On 13 July 2005 the office of the interior of the Urus-Martan District of Grozny informed the first applicant that it was taking steps aimed at establishing Isa Zaurbekov’s whereabouts and finding those involved in his abduction.
37.  On 11 August 2005 the district prosecutor’s office replied to the first applicant’s query of 2 August 2005. The letter stated that the investigation in criminal case no. 20123 in connection with her son’s abduction had been opened on 17 June 2003, and that although all possible measures had been taken, Isa Zaurbekov’s whereabouts and the identity of the alleged perpetrators could not be established. It went on to say that a number of witnesses residing in the same block of flats where Isa Zaurbekov and the second applicant had lived had been questioned and that relevant enquiries had been sent to various State bodies in Chechnya and neighbouring regions; however, those steps had brought no positive results. The letter assured the first applicant that the search for her son was in progress and stated that she could access the file of criminal case no. 20123 at any time during working hours on the premises of the district prosecutor’s office.
38.  In a letter of 18 August 2005 the republican prosecutor’s office informed the applicants that the investigation in case no. 20123 had been reopened.
39.  It appears that at some point the investigation was again suspended.
40.  In a letter of 28 November 2005 the district prosecutor’s office notified the applicants that the investigation in case no. 20123 had been resumed on the same date.
41.  On 28 December 2005 the district prosecutor’s office informed the applicants of the adjournment of the proceedings in case no. 20123 on account of the failure to identify the alleged perpetrators.
42.  Referring to the information provided by the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Government stated in their memorials submitted prior to the decision on admissibility that the investigation into Isa Zaurbekov’s abduction had been commenced on 17 June 2003 and then suspended on 17 September 2003, 14 May and 17 September 2005 and resumed on 14 April, 17 August and 28 November 2005, but had so far failed to identify those responsible. In their memorial submitted after the decision on admissibility, the Government stated that on the latest occasion the investigation had been suspended on 28 December 2005 and then reopened on 10 November 2007.
43.  In the Government’s submission, the second applicant was questioned on 10 August and 15 September 2003 and 14 April 2005 and declared a victim of a crime on 4 September 2003. During her witness interview of 10 August 2003 the second applicant reiterated her account of events of 11 February 2003 and, in particular, stated that the men who had taken away her brother had been wearing camouflage uniforms and masks and had had machine guns, sniper rifles and portable transmitters, that there had been around 15 of them in her flat and that she had seen from the balcony of her flat that they had left in three armoured personnel carriers, UAZ vehicles, and a white VAZ 2106 Zhiguli car in the direction of the 6th mini-district of Grozny (6-й микрорайон г. Грозного). The men had also taken the central processing unit of a desktop computer, a computer mouse, 10 compact discs and a family photo album. According to the Government, in her interview of 15 September 2003 the second applicant also stated that the reason for the abduction of her brother, Isa Zaurbekov, could have been the fact that their other brother, Kh., had been a member of illegal armed groups. During her interview of 14 April 2005, the second applicant described Isa Zaurbekov’s distinguishing marks and the clothes which he had been wearing on the night of his abduction and assessed the value of the stolen computer central processing unit as amounting to 20,000 Russian roubles (RUB).
44.  The investigators also questioned the first applicant on 11 August and 19 September 2003 and declared her a victim of a crime on 11 August 2003. She stated that the second applicant had informed her in the early hours of 12 February 2003 of Isa Zaurbekov’s detention and that the following day she had notified all relevant State bodies, but her son’s whereabouts had not been established.
45.  Apart from the applicants, the authorities also questioned the applicants’ relatives and a number of the second applicant’s neighbours. As can be ascertained from the Government’s submissions, two of the neighbours were questioned in September 2003, and the others in April and December 2005. Most of them stated that they had not witnessed Isa Zaurbekov’s abduction or seen any servicemen or military vehicles on the night of the incident, but had heard the next day that Isa Zaurbekov had been taken by servicemen in armoured personnel carriers. One of the neighbours, Mr D., submitted that on the night of the incident he had seen about ten armed men in camouflage uniforms and masks near the block of flats in which he, the second applicant and Isa Zaurbekov had lived but he had not seen any military vehicles. Another neighbour, Mr Kh., stated that on the night of the incident, at around 3 a.m. he had seen armed men in masks and camouflage uniforms on his balcony, from which they had climbed to upper floors, and that he had heard the noise of military vehicles but not very clearly because of his impaired hearing. According to the Government, Ms M.-M. submitted that on 12 February 2003 she had heard from her neighbours that Isa Zaurbekov had been taken away in the night by armed men in camouflage uniforms speaking Russian. It does not appear that any other witnesses were questioned in the course of the investigation.
46.  The Government also stated that the investigating authorities had sent a number of enquiries to detention centres in Chechnya and further afield in the Northern Caucasus, the regional and federal security agencies and military authorities. The law-enforcement bodies had provided information that there had been no special operations on 11 February 2003 during which Isa Zaurbekov could have been detained, that no criminal proceedings had ever been brought and no special measures had ever been taken, against him, and that he had never been arrested or detained by any of them and had not been listed among detainees of any detention centres. The Government did not specify the dates on which the enquiries had been sent.
47.  In the Government’s submission, on 14 April 2005 criminal proceedings were brought under Article 162 (3) of the Russian Criminal Code (aggravated robbery) in connection with the fact that on 11 February 2003 the men who had abducted Isa Zaurbekov had also taken the second applicant’s property. The case file was assigned the number 40057. On the same date the second applicant had been granted the status of victim in that case. On 15 April 2005 cases nos. 20123 and 40057 were joined under the former number.
48.  In the applicants’ submission, upon receipt of the letter of 11 August 2005 they made a number of attempts to gain access to the file on the criminal investigation into Isa Zaurbekov’s abduction and visited the district prosecutor’s office on several occasions. According to them, on one occasion they were denied access to the case file as the investigator in charge was away, and on another occasion they were unable to read the case file as it had been sent to the republican prosecutor’s office.
49.  On 20 December 2005 the second applicant again visited the district prosecutor’s office and was provided with copies of several documents from the file. Those included two requests of 15 April 2005 to prosecutors of regions neighbouring Chechnya as well as to prosecutors of various districts in Chechnya, describing Isa Zaurbekov’s appearance and distinguishing marks and asking them to check whether he was listed among unidentified dead bodies and whether any criminal cases had ever been opened in connection with the discovery of corpses with his appearance and distinguishing marks, and a reminder of 5 May 2005 to carry out the steps indicated in the requests of 15 April 2005. According to the second applicant, the investigator in charge stated that he could not give her access to any other materials.
50.  On 8 February 2006 the first applicant and a representative of the SRJI visited the district prosecutor’s office and were given access to the case file. They were not allowed to make any photocopies or to take written notes, but the first applicant managed to memorise the contents of a number of documents.
51.  In particular, while studying the case file, the first applicant came across information stating that the preliminary investigation had established that a group of armed servicemen of the Russian law-enforcement agencies had taken away Isa Zaurbekov at about 3 a.m. on 11 February 2003. The same group of servicemen had taken away two other men, a father and son named Sh., in a neighbouring district of Grozny at about 3.30 a.m. on the date in question and had attempted to take away another person, who, however, had been away from home at that moment.
52.  The first applicant read a witness statement dated 23 August 2005 by Mr Sh., a relative of the father and son who had disappeared after 11 February 2003, to the effect that on 11 February 2003 armed people in four armoured personnel carriers and two UAZ vehicles had taken away the father and son from the Sh. family. Mr Sh. also stated that on 18 February 2003 he and an investigator of the Grozny prosecutor’s office had visited a nearby federal checkpoint and found out that on 11 February 2003 at about 3 a.m. a federal military convoy had passed through the checkpoint in the direction of the districts where Isa Zaurbekov and the two men from the Sh. family had been apprehended. The convoy, which had returned an hour later, consisted of four armoured personnel carriers and two UAZ vehicles.
53.  The Government, who were invited by the Court to comment on these submissions by the first applicant, replied that the version concerning the possible involvement of federal servicemen or personnel of the law-enforcement agencies in Isa Zaurbekov’s abduction had been thoroughly checked during the investigation, but no such involvement had been established. The Government refused to provide a transcript of a witness interview of Mr Sh. despite the Court’s specific request to that end, and stated that during that interview Mr Sh. had indicated that he had heard from his brother that on 12 February 2003 the father and son Sh. had been taken away from their privately owned house in a village near Grozny by a group of about 40 federal servicemen in four armoured personnel carriers and two UAZ vehicles. Mr Sh. had also talked to duty officers at a nearby federal checkpoint, who had confirmed that a military convoy had passed through in the direction of the village where the two men from the Sh. family had been taken and then back in the direction of Grozny. According to the Government, there had been no link between the abduction of Isa Zaurbekov and that of the father and son named Sh., and there were no grounds to claim that they all had been abducted by the same men.
54.  The first applicant also saw a witness statement by Mr Kh. to the effect that he had heard the noise of a heavy military vehicle on the night when Isa Zaurbekov had been apprehended, and statements by Mr and Mrs Id., the second applicant’s neighbours, to the effect that they had been asleep on the night of the incident and had learnt about Isa Zaurbekov’s detention on the next day.
55.  According to the first applicant, there were no documents disclosing State secrets or military information in the case file.
56.  Despite specific requests by the Court on two occasions, the Government did not furnish it with a copy of any of the documents from the criminal investigation file. They only submitted a list of documents in the file of criminal case no. 20123, from which it can be ascertained that there were at least 229 pages in the file. Relying on the information obtained from the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Government stated that the investigation was in progress and that disclosure of the documents would be in violation of Article 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, since the file contained information of a military nature and personal data concerning the witnesses. At the same time, the Government suggested that a Court delegation could have access to the file on the premises of the authorities conducting the preliminary investigation, with the exception of “those documents [disclosing military information and the personal data of the witnesses], and without the right to make copies of the case file and transmit it to others”.
57.  On 11 October 2007 the application was declared partly admissible. At that stage the Court once again invited the Government to submit the investigation file and to provide information concerning the progress of the investigation after December 2005. The Court specifically requested the Government to produce the witness statement by Mr Sh. dated 23 August 2005 referred to by the first applicant (see paragraph 52 above), and any other witness statements relating to the events of 11 February 2003. In reply, the Government refused to submit any documents from the case file and informed the Court of the latest occasions on which the investigation had been suspended and reopened (see paragraph 42 above).